"Then He said to them, 'Why do you sleep?
Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."
Luke 22:46
Two recovering alcoholics were talking about their experiences. One shared that since he prayed to be free from addiction to alcohol, he had never been tempted again. The other man admitted that he too had prayed to be free, but the temptation still came back to him time after time. His friend said, "Maybe God just wants to remind you that He's the one who keeps you free." The man said, "You may be right. One thing is for sure, without God I would be helpless to the temptation." No matter what our temptation may be, we are helpless without God.
Jesus had been praying through the night. Even Jesus was tempted. He saw His disciples asleep. He awakened them to pray, lest they entered into temptation. Herein, Jesus gives us the key to overcoming temptation. It's prayer. He taught us in the Lord's Prayer to say to Father God, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." That is a daily prayer for every believer, because none of us are exempt from temptation.
What is the number one temptation in your life? When we yield to temptation, every believer should confess to God the sin, and receive forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). To overcome the temptation, we continue to pray that God will lead us and deliver us. Prayer is our greatest resource in dealing with the temptations of life. Don't give up the battle. Receive God's help in overcoming temptation.
God, we receive Your help through temptation.
